Good point, and while this may be valid on World War II designs, modern AFVs have an automatic lock that secures the hatch when fully open. The Israelis developed the first three position hatch (the orden hatch) that allowed the TC to partially open his hatch (and have better protection from fragmentation and small arms). The orden was slightly modified for use on the M-48A5 and was further refined for use on the M-1 series.
A lot of people complain about the three position hatches, some of the comments mention about how slow it is close, since the auto lock will catch on the partial position. In my own experience, this was never a problem, provided the TC held the lock in the disengaged position throughout as well as the grab bar and dropped, rapidly!
The most dangerous item on the M-1 TCs coupla is the breech of the Ma Deuce...especially if the driver dimes his brakes and the TC isn't holding own!
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The reason that the American Army does so well in wartime, is that war is chaos, and the American Army practices chaos on a daily basis.
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